Disclaimer: I do not own Tomb Raider or any of its characters nor do I profit from the writing of this story.

A/N: Thanks to all of you for the awesome feedback. I particularly appreciated ingelheim's insight into the medical profession. I've made a minor edit to the previous chapter to be more accurate. Without further ado… here ya go!

Chapter 4: Revelation

Sam slid into the back seat of the black town car, pulling her crutches in with her. After a moment Lara appeared, easing herself down into the seat beside her before shutting the car door behind her. Almost as soon as they got comfortable, the driver pulled away from the curb and sped down the street.

"So, where are we going?" Lara inquired, attempting to get comfortable. Sam watched as the other woman leaned back as far as she could in the seat to ease the strain on her ribs.

"I'm not sure exactly…the driver said that my dad paid for a hotel room in the city for us," Sam responded, her thoughts drifting to her father again. She knew that he and her mother were mere minutes away in their huge condo in the heart of Tokyo. Yet they couldn't manage the short trip to come visit their only daughter, who had just survived the most traumatic experience of her life. Just thinking about it made her so unbelievably angry, but it wasn't as if she expected anything less from her parents.

She was drawn from her reverie by the feeling of something warm and comforting covering her hand and all of her anger vanished. Glancing down, Sam saw that Lara had rested her hand over hers on the black leather of the car seat. It felt like such a sweet gesture and Sam's heart sped up at the contact. It was the small actions like these that gave Sam a tiny glimmer of hope…that maybe…just maybe Lara had feelings for her.

After hesitating for only a moment, Sam responded by tilting her hand slightly and lacing her fingers with Lara's. Sensing no resistance, she slowly shifted her eyes upward only to see Lara's hazel ones gazing back at her. It felt so good just to hold the other woman's hand…so natural.

She was reminded of what almost occurred earlier today when she was helping Lara change. Warmth spread through her body just remembering how close their bodies had been…the smooth skin of Lara's bare back so very close.

Just the memory of it was making her cheeks warm with embarrassment, so she turned her face away to hide her blushing. After a few seconds she deemed it safe enough to glance sideways at the woman next to her. Lara was resting her head back against the seat and had closed her eyes, not releasing Sam's hand.

Sam's heart went out to her…she still had to be in so much pain. She had been given some pain meds but still… Before they had left, the nurse, Mai, had given her the supplies for changing Lara's bandages as well as detailed instructions about how to accomplish it, but Sam was apprehensive about it. What if she did something wrong? What if she hurt Lara worse?

Sam allowed herself to take in the appearance of the gorgeous woman next to her. The golden brown hairs that had escaped her hair tie were framing her face, accentuating her strong jaw line and high cheek bones. The little cuts and scrapes that had been there before were already starting to heal. Her exposed neck curved gracefully down to her shoulders and Sam had the overwhelming urge to run her fingers over the soft skin there. Her eyes continued their journey downward to the swell of Lara's chest. As soon as she realized what she was doing Sam snapped her head away quickly, the blush returning with a vengeance.

The rest of the ride was spent in a comfortable silence, but Sam kept her eyes glued to the large skyscrapers as they passed by her window, too afraid to risk looking back at Lara. Eventually, the driver pulled the car to a smooth stop in front of a particularly large building and Sam watched him get out of the car. Sensing the car had stopped moving, Lara sat up beside her and Sam was disappointed when she felt the other woman's hand slide out of hers. The driver went over to Lara's side of the car and opened the door for her, offering his hand to help her out of the car.

Sam watched as Lara waved his help away and stepped out of the car by herself, turning to help her out of the car. Sam passed her crutches over to the woman and watched as she rested them against the car. Turning back to her, Lara offered her assistance by holding out both of her hands to her, and Sam graciously accepted. The other woman's hands were warm and strong, as she pulled her up from her sitting position effortlessly. As she stood up fully, Sam noticed once again how close they were to one another. This seemed to keep happening to them…or was she just more aware of it now?

Lara continued to grip one of her hands, even though Sam could certainly stand on her own, but this felt much too good to pull away. After a moment, they both seemed to come back to reality and Sam slowly reached for her crutches.

The hotel was absolutely huge and there was a man at the door ready to lead them to their room. There was one thing she could always count on: her father would spare no expense for his little girl... unless it involved his presence, that is.

The bellhop was surprised they didn't have any baggage, but he grabbed the plastic bags the hospital had put their old clothes and personal items in, before gesturing for them to follow. Sam could feel Lara's concerned glance as she used the crutches to follow the man, but she said nothing while she trailed behind.

They took an elevator up to the very top floor and the bellhop led them down the hall, finally stopping at a door before swiping the keycard and holding the door open for them.

Sam was used to nice things, having a crazy rich daddy, but this…this was a bit much. Sam didn't even know where to begin… the room had a wall that was one giant window with a breath-taking view of the city. There was a huge bathroom with a tub with jets and a separate shower with expensive looking tile. A couch faced a large flat screen TV and there was a full kitchen as well as a huge room with two king-sized beds pushed against the wall.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" the bellhop asked in Japanese, and Sam wasn't sure she had the capacity for speech at the moment. This hotel room was absolutely huge… Probably bigger than her and Lara's apartment in London.

"I don't think so…," Lara responded, glancing around at the room as well. The bellhop seemed surprised that the English woman was the one to reply to him, but he recovered quickly.

"All right. If you think of anything, don't hesitate to ask," he assured her before stepping out of the room, leaving Lara and Sam alone.

"Uh, how long did your dad pay for us to stay here?" Lara asked, breaking the silence and stepping around the room.

"The driver said a week…," Sam replied, dropping the medical supplied on the coffee table and opening the dresser to look at the assortment of clothes that had been provided for them. Not too shabby…

Lara stepped up behind her and, after looking around she reached into the dresser and grabbed some pajamas as well as a pair of underwear. Sam could feel the heat creeping up her neck again and she knew she was probably blushing like crazy. She really needed to get a hold of herself.

Ever since admitting to herself that she was, in fact, in love with her best friend Sam couldn't stop thinking about how she could tell Lara. Sam couldn't live the rest of her life pretending… she just needed a little bit more time…

"Would you mind if I stepped in the shower first?" Sam blurted, afraid that if she didn't get a moment to herself to think she might explode.

"Sure... just save me some hot water, okay?" Lara teased her gently and Sam smiled to herself. Back during their college days at UCL, Sam was notorious for taking obscenely long showers, much to the annoyance of the archaeologist.

Sam just shook her head in amusement and glanced down into the large dresser. Her dad had done well; he knew her size and the designers she liked… or at least he had a really good assistant who did.

Shaking these thoughts from her mind, Sam grabbed some pajamas and made her way to the bathroom. After everything she had been through on Yamatai, she couldn't wait to just wash it all off.

She flipped the hot water on, removed the wrap from her ankle, slipped her clothes off, and stepped into the shower. Immediately, it felt like the grime was melting off of her as she stood facing the warm jets. All of the dirt, all of the blood, all of those men's filthy hands…

A wave of nausea hit her as she thought about Mathias' rough hands gripping her arms, her throat; not to mention the countless other Solarii whose hands had touched her. Sam shivered despite the warm water, and scrubbed her skin harder.

She had to keep reminding herself... She was safe now… Lara had made sure of that, but she had a feeling that Yamatai was going to stay with her for quite some time.

Once Sam was finished, she cut the water off and stepped out of the shower. Grabbing a towel from the shelf, Sam dried off and got dressed in the comfy pajama shorts and baggy t-shirt she had picked out for herself. She began brushing her hair, pausing only to wipe the condensation off the mirror so she could get a good look at herself.

Despite the bags under her eyes, she still looked like the same person, but she could feel the change inside of her. No matter how many showers she took, these memories weren't just something she could just wash away.

Lara was the reason she was alive right now. When she had been kidnapped and had stolen that radio from the guard, that familiar British voice was the only thing that had kept her going…gave her hope. She had known without a shadow of a doubt that Lara would save her. Lara...

Setting down the brush, Sam gripped the edge of the sink and steadied her breathing. She couldn't go on like this….

Her old anxieties were taking a hold of her again; her fear that she would lose her best friend, terrified of rejection… but after everything they had been through Sam owed it to herself and Lara to be honest.

Sam stared into her own eyes in the mirror attempting to gather all of the courage she could. Releasing the sink, she paused to take a deep breath before opening the bathroom door.

She stepped hesitantly out of the bathroom and glanced around the corner at the two beds.

Lara was sitting up in the bed, leaning with her back against the frame, reading from her journal. Sam figured she must have dug it out of the bag with her possessions from the hospital. Knowing Lara, she was probably already planning their next adventure.

"Have a good shower?" Lara asked, glancing up from her journal to look at her. Sam nodded and made her way over to the bed.

Sam slid onto the bed and leaned back against the headboard next to Lara, their shoulders gently brushing. She could feel Lara staring at her so she changed the subject to buy her some time.

"Are you hungry? I was thinking about ordering some room service," Sam told her, reaching over and grabbing the menu off of the side table.

"Yea, I could definitely use some food in my system," Lara replied, setting down her journal on her side table and glancing at the menu with her. They ordered a late lunch and had a nice quiet meal in the hotel room together. Sam was still itching to tell Lara everything, but she was just so freaking terrified of losing her…

"That was the best meal I've had in a long time...," Lara told her, making a noise of appreciation and standing up from the small kitchen table they had just eaten at.

"Hmmm, me too, especially since we're not cooking it ourselves, or paying for it, for that matter," Sam joked, standing up herself and grabbing her crutches. She probably didn't need them, but it was better to be safe than sorry, she figured.

"I think it's my turn to investigate that shower," Lara decided, grabbing the pajamas she had picked out earlier.

"Do you need…help?" Sam asked as Lara was turning to head to the bathroom. The British woman glanced over her shoulder and shook her head slightly.

"I think I'll manage," Lara told her before heading into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Just a mere few hours ago she had needed help getting changed, but Sam had a feeling that Lara was just trying to save face. Or maybe she was uncomfortable with Sam seeing her…

A few minutes later, Sam heard the sound of the shower turning on and she had to force her mind to keep from thinking about her friend through that door. If Lara said she could handle changing by herself then she could do it, but Sam was still afraid she was going to hurt herself because she was too proud to admit she needed help.

Sam swung over to one of the bed's and laid her crutches on the floor before letting herself flop unceremoniously onto the soft mattress. She had slept relatively well the last couple of nights, on the ship, then in the hospital, mainly because she had been so close to Lara. But, she still felt exhausted, mentally and physically.

Sam had been so naïve before she went on this adventure. Nothing bad had really ever happened to her. But then Mathias had taken advantage of her naïveté. She had allowed herself to be taken hostage and it was her fault that Lara had gone through what she had…all to save her.

The one good thing that came out of that awful experience was that she had come to terms with her feelings for her best friend. It was true what they say: You don't know what you have until it's gone…Sam had almost lost Lara on several occasions during this ordeal and it forced her to accept what she had known all along.

Pushing herself up on her arms, Sam glanced around the room to distract herself and her eyes fell on the bags with their old clothes in them.

Sam sat up all the way on the bed and reached for the bag with Lara's things, pulling it onto her lap. Hesitantly, she pulled it open and reached in, her hands landing on a familiar object after a moment of searching. Lifting her hand out of the bag, Sam's eyes fell on the object in her hand: Lara's necklace. The leather part used as chain was cut, probably at the hospital to get it off quickly. For no reason in particular, Sam roughly repaired the necklace by tying the ends together and examined the rugged piece of jewelry more closely.

Her thumb slid over the smooth jade pendent and she was so distracted that she didn't notice the water cutting off or that Lara had exited the bathroom. The British woman approached her dressed in flannel pajama bottoms and a black tank top that fit her snugly. Her wet hair clung to her shoulders and little drops of water shimmered on her tanned skin. Sam snapped herself out of these thoughts and looked up into Lara's hazel eyes.

"The nurse said I should change your bandages after you take a shower," Sam informed her, having to clear her throat a little. As she stood up from the bed, she decided that she would do without her crutches and limped over to the supplies she had left on the coffee table.

"Should you be walking on your ankle?" Lara asked her, folding her arms across her chest, trying to look stern, but Sam could see the line of worry creasing her forehead.

"Don't worry about me, Sweetie," Sam reassured her, setting down the necklace and grabbing a couple of bandages, some ointment, and hydrogen peroxide. Lara followed and stopped in front of her, seeming unsure of herself. Sam turned to face her friend and her nerves started to come back in full force.

Sam kneeled to be in a more comfortable position and also to escape Lara's powerful gaze. Lara seemed to take the hint and pulled her shirt up, exposing her stomach and the soaked bandages underneath. Sam did her best not to stare but it was incredibly difficult when faced with the toned abdominal muscles directly in front of her face.

Sam's fingers shook a little as she reached forward and gently peeled the bandage from Lara's skin. Underneath, Sam could see that the wound looked much better with the stitches holding it closed, but it caused a sharp pain in her chest just looking at it.

Dabbing gently at the edges of the wound with the hydrogen peroxide, Sam did her best to clean the wound despite her nervousness. She then carefully applied the ointment before covering the injury with fresh gauze and bandages. When she was finished with her stomach, she had Lara turn around and did the same with the exit wound on her back.

Lara watched her work quietly, but there were a few spots where Sam could feel the subtle change in Lara's breathing. Every time Sam would stop immediately, afraid she had hurt the other woman, looking up to search her eyes for any signs of pain.

Once she was finished, Lara helped Sam up from her kneeling position with a gentle hand. Lara eventually released her hand to pull her shirt back down, but she made no move to step away. Sam was having a hard time making her feet move either with Lara standing this close to her.

Lara was just so beautiful... Sam wanted to tell her that so badly... along with so many other things.

"Thanks. I really appreciate you agreeing to do this," Lara's voice brought her back to the present and she reached down and grabbed Lara's necklace from the coffee table. Hesitantly, she placed it over Lara's head and then a second time, as she usually wore it. When she was finished, Sam instinctively rested her hand on the pendent, her fingers feeling the smooth skin of Lara's chest.

"Sam…?" Lara spoke her name with her English accent and it gave her the usual shiver of pleasure, but Sam did her best to hide it.

"Yea," Sam replied simply; part of her already knew what the other woman was going to say to her, but it was still a shock to her system when the words came anyway.

"Back at the hospital…," Lara began and Sam was sure that her heart had stopped, "You said that you needed to tell me something?"

This was it...

Sam took both of Lara's hands in her own, her thumb tenderly caressing the other woman's knuckles. Unable to meet the intense hazel eyes in front of her, Sam opted instead to look down at their joined hands.

"Lara…," Sam's heart began pounding so loudly in her chest that she was certain that Lara would be able to hear it. It was becoming difficult to breath, but it was now or never. With every ounce of courage she could muster, Sam forced herself to look up into Lara's confused eyes.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" Sam began, giving Lara a nervous smile as she struggled to form a coherent sentence.

"Of course I do…I was trying to study for my history final and you shoved a camera in my face," Lara reminisced with a short laugh, her lips curling into a smile at the memory. Sam's heart swelled seeing Lara's perfect smile and it gave her the courage she needed to continue.

"I remember it a little differently…I remember wanting to know who this shy girl was and why she was hiding her beautiful face behind a book," Sam told her, searching Lara's eyes to see if she understood what she was trying to say.

Lara tilted her head slightly to the side, her eyes filled with questions. Sam couldn't stop now...

"Lara, I have known from that moment and every day since…," it was getting harder for Sam to form words, but once she started speaking everything just seemed to spill out of her.

"It wasn't until I thought I had almost lost you…I knew…I couldn't hide it anymore," Sam could feel the sheer strength of her emotions beginning to overwhelm her, but this was it. No more hiding…, so she finished,

"I'm in love with you, Lara."

There it is! I hope you liked it! I really appreciate all of the awesome reviews! You guys make me want to write all of the time. Let me know what you think!